Full speed ahead. In China, growth is also compromising people’s health. With high-quality medicines, Merck is capturing the Chinese market and fighting diseases of affluence.
China is a country in transition, which is leading to new health care challenges. In order to stop diabetes from becoming an epidemic in China, Merck is responding to the needs there, and aims to support the Chinese government’s efforts to increase patient access to quality care by bringing high-quality, cost-effective medicines to a broader population.
- Portrait: Belén Garijo
- At a glance
Portrait: Belén Garijo
The economic boom in China is impressive, but it has a downside: nowhere else in the world is home to as many people with diabetes as China. To counter this trend, Merck Serono is increasing its engagement in China and will make one of the leading antidiabetic agents accessible even in remote regions.
Belén Garijo, President and CEO of Merck Serono
“We exist to help people.”
100 million people with type 2 diabetes in China are too many – far too many, and Belén Garijo is keenly aware of it. “As a biopharmaceutical company, we exist to help people. This is our raison d’être – in China like anywhere else in the world.” One out of four people with diabetes worldwide lives in China, which means there is much to be done there. Economic power, population, demand, consumption – there is hardly anything in China that is not growing at an astonishing rate. This upward trend applies to health care needs as well, in particular diabetes.
Medicines that hit the target
As the President and CEO of Merck Serono, Belén Garijo intends to play a key role in facilitating access to antidiabetic agents in places where they used to be hard to obtain. One example is Glucophage®, an established standard of care for treating type 2 diabetes that has been utilized in China for 14 years: Until recently, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) was the product’s sole distributor there, but since the beginning of 2013 Merck Serono and BMS have joined forces to expand the geographic distribution of Glucophage®, as well as to provide diabetes-related health and medical information, including education for health professionals. A collaboration in which Garijo has played a decisive role. “I believe that Merck Serono’s historical role in the discovery and development of this first-line treatment in China brings credibility to our role in the partnership,” she says.
Today, Garijo says, significantly more hospitals in China have access to the drug – even in remote regions – thanks to the joint efforts of Merck and BMS. Does this make her proud? “Of course,” she replies, “What drives us at Merck Serono is our commitment to transforming patients’ lives.” According to Garijo, this also means viewing the markets from a different perspective, learning to think and act with an eye for the long term, not merely in quarters. “Our long-term ‘Merck thinking’ fits particularly well with the Chinese culture,” she says.
China – Part of Merck’s history
Merck intends to rank among the top ten multinational pharmaceutical companies in China, one of Merck’s three focus markets along with Brazil and the United States, by 2020. For Merck, this means building for the future in China by investing across the value chain. In addition to its existing pharmaceutical research center, development capabilities and commercial presence, Merck recently announced an € 80 million investment for a new pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in China. “We are very proud to be one of the first multinational companies investing in a local site focused on the manufacturing of medicines referenced in China’s essential drug list,” said Garijo while attending the signing ceremony with local authorities in November 2013 in Nantong, in the greater Shanghai area. “The medicines produced at the Nantong manufacturing site, our international leading brands Glucophage®, Concor® and Euthyrox®, will serve the country’s expanding health care needs in the areas of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and thyroid disorders,” she says.
Merck Serono also aims to help address critical health care needs of the Chinese population in the areas of oncology and fertility with its innovative biotech specialty medicines Erbitux® and Gonal-f®, respectively.
Already on her way to her next meeting, Garijo looks up and says, “You know, we have been active in China for 80 years now. The country is already part of our history. That is why we really see ourselves playing a key role in promoting the health of the people there.”
Garijo, between meetings: “China has always been part of Merck’s history.”
Garijo at the signing ceremony for the future manufacturing site in Nantong.
At a glance
Merck Serono
At Merck Serono, the biopharmaceutical division of Merck, the focus is on making a lasting difference in the lives of patients. Science and research form the basis for our innovative medical therapies. People and their quality of life are always at the center of everything we do.
The brands
Rebif®
Erbitux®
Glucophage®
Gonal-f®
Concor®
These selected brands are among the key products of Merck Serono, the Group’s largest division in terms of sales. The two leading products Rebif® and Erbitux® generate nearly one-half of sales.
Business figures
Sales
€ 5,953,594,110
EBITDA pre
€ 1,954,981,681
Sales by region
Microcosmos
Glucophage®
01 Formula
Metformin hydrochloride is a member of the biguanide class for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. It suppresses glucose production by the liver and promotes glucose uptake in the muscles.
02 Active ingredient
Metformin hydrochloride is present as white, virtually odorless and bitter-tasting crystals that are readily soluble in water.
03 Tablet
The classical dosage form of Glucophage® is a tablet. Further developments are taking patient needs into account such as extended release (XR) formulations to reduce dosing to once daily and thus increase convenience.
04 Powder
Further development of Glucophage® film-coated tablets: water-soluble virtually tasteless powder for easy intake.